Gas-meter bellows



(No Model.)

J. D. VINEY.

- GAS METER BELLOWS. No. 546,947. Patented Sept. 24, 1895.

FIG I FIG 2 WITNESSES INVENII'OR ygg Josephine D Vingy M By lulyflltornqy-s- Wmam t ANnREW EGRAHAM, VHOTDUMQWASHINGTON. 0.0

5:1 price.

JOSEPHINE D. VINEY, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

GAS-METER BELLCWS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 546,947, datedSeptember 24, 1895,

Application filed May 19, 1894. Serial No. 511,833. (No model.)

rb aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOSEPHINE D.V1NEY, a citizen of the United States,residing in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, have invented certainImprovements in Gas-Meter Bellows, of which the following is aspecification.

My invention consists of a bellows-leather for use in connection withgas-meter bellows, having one of its rings of less diameter than theother, the object of my present invention being to so construct such abellows-leather that a tight joint may be formed between the same andboth the large and small rings of the bellows. This object I attain inthe manner hereinafter set forth,reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, in which Figure 1 is a sectional view of theinner and outerrings and connecting leather of a gas-- meter bellows of the characterto which my invention relates, and Fig. 2 is a diagram representing thefiat strip of leather before the ends of the same are joined andillustrating the novel formation of the strip which constitutes myinvention.

In Fig. 1, A and B represent, respectively, the large and small rings ofa gas-meter bellows, and D the strip of leather whereby the the same arejoined, one end portion of this strip being secured by a wrapping a tothe large ring A of the bellows, and the other end portion of thestripbeing secured to the small ring B by a wrapping I).

In order to cause the bellows-leather to maintain its outwardly-bulgedform at all times and in all positions of the rings in respect to eachother, it is usual to makethe strip D somewhat longer than thecircumference of the rings when the latter are of the same size asusual, so that when the ends of the strips are joined there will beconsiderable fullness to be plaited in upon each ring in securing thestrip thereto. When one ring of the bellows is, however, smaller indiameter than the other, excessive plaiting of the bellows-leather onthe smaller ring results, and it is diflicult, in fact practicallyimpossible, to make a per manently-tight joint between said bellowsleather and said smaller ring. In order to overcome this objection I cutthe strip ofleather substantially on the arc of a circle in the shapeshown in Fig. 2-thatis to say, with tapered ends 0300 and segmentalinner and outer edges 'g y'whereby that portion y of theleather which isapplied to the smaller ring is so much less in length than the portion ywhich is applied to the larger ring that no excessive plaiting of theleather on the smaller ring will be required in fitting it thereto. If,for example, the larger ring is eight inchesin diameter and the smallerring is six inches in diameter, the longer side y of the leather stripmight measure twenty-nine inches, be-

ing an excess of about four inches over the circumference of the largering, and the shorter side y of the strip might measure twenty-twoinches, being about three inches more than the circumference of thesmaller ring, so that in every inch of the circumference of either ringthere will be about onesixth of an inch of fullness to be plaited in. Ofcourse it will be understood that these figures are simply cited asexamples and need not be rigidly adhered to in carrying out theinvention.

Having thus described my invention, I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent The combination in a gas meter bellows, of the inner andouter rings, one of which is of greater diameter than the other, withthe bellows leather cut substantially on the arc of a circle, theshorter side of which is applied to the smaller ring, whereby excessiveplaiting on said ring is avoided, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOSEPHINE D. VINEY.

Witnesses:

JOSEPH H. KLEIN, FRANK E. BEoHtroLD.

